Before Washinton the United States government suffered many problems. It inherited debt of $52 million from the confederation. There was no navy and only an army of only about 400 men. Therefore they were not respected by other countries.
In 1789 the new electoral college fortunately elected George Washington as the first president of the United States. For vice president, Massachusetts patriot John Adams was elected. The officials in the executive branch or Washington's administration started with himself, John Adams and around 12 clerks. Washington began setting important acts or statements that become traditions to be followed called precedents.
The Constitution had one Supreme Court and many smaller ones. They left to Congress the details of organizing a federal court system. James Madison was elected to the House of Representatives and helped pass the the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act established a system of courts (Judiciary). The first U.S. judiciary consisted of thirteen federal district courts, one for each state. The Supreme Court served as a trial court in cases involving states or foreign affairs. The Judiciary Act rooted the office attorney general to defend and prosecute cases on behalf of the federal government. John Jay was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Washington.
The formation of the first Cabinet was one of Washington's most important precedents. The Cabinet was a group of federal leaders who led major departments of the executive branch and advised the President. The departments of State, Treasury, and War and the attorney general were the first 4 executive departments. Thomas Jefferson led the State Department conducted foreign policy. War Department supervised national defense. Alexander Hamilton was the Secretary of treasury and managed the nation's finances. The Cabinet members were approved by senate and in 1907 it was officially recognized by law.
Washington
"The Ferderalist Party was led by John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and John Marshall. It formed from the federalists who before the ratification of the constitution fought for a stronger federal government. They were opposed at that time by the anti-ferderalists who morphed into the Democratic-Republicans after ratification." http://americanhistory.about.com/od/politicalparties/p/federalistparty.htm
"How soon we forget history... Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." (George Washington)
"A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing."
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton had to figure out a way to pay our nations debts, this procedure had provide economic security for our new nation. Hamilton believed in federalism, a strong centralized government was key to preserve the union. But as one can imagine, there are people with different opinions, the antifederalists. While trying to create this plan, Hamilton had to face the opinions of the AF, they thought that a strong national government would threaten states rights and peoples freedoms. While fighting with the two sides, it became clear that two different forms of government were needed.
Hamilton wanted to develop a commercial and industrial economy that could support a large federal government, but also take care of a army and navy. All together, the national debt was at $52 million; but then the debt owed from the individual states was $25 million. To pay these debts, Hamilton sold government bonds, which owe annual interest from there holders. To pay the annual interest on the bonds, Hamilton proposed new excise taxes and high tariffs to raise revenue for the federal government. He also asked congress to charter a bank of the united states that could regulate state banks, strengthen the national government, and insure that business interests were closely aligned with those of the government.
Hamilton saw three great benefits from his system:
1) It would establish the nations financial credibility, making it easier to borrow money in the future
2) It would buy political support from the wealthiest Americans, which Hamilton believes was essential for the governments stability
3) It would enrich envestors, who could then build new ships, wharves, store houses, and factories
Hamiltons program was intended to redistribue wealth, the federal government would taxt the American people, mainly farmers.
Help gov't regulate economy generate income through loans
Created model on which todays federal reserve system is based
Opposing Hamilton
By: Kathryn Squillace and Macky Bliss
"A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing" -Alexander Hamilton
There are many instances in our nation's history where the federal
external image
government has reached its limits. Most of the time, an individual or
group of individuals are called upon to create solutions that help to
build a stronger government. In 1790, the new United States government
was faced with many problems, especially with the economy. As Secretary
of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton took the leading role in solving the
nation's biggest economic problem: the national debt. After designing
a respectable plan, the people of the United States praised its benefits,
but also noticed its flaws. Every new idea comes with its own set of
problems, and Alexander Hamilton had to deal with many opposers that
questioned his role in the government.
As Hamilton formed his economic plan, there were a few major groups of opposers.
The southern states were among the first who lead this opposition. Under Hamilton's
plan, the federal government would tax all of the states regardless of the status of
their debt. Unlike the northern states at the time, the southern states had already
paid off their debts and were ready to move forward. The southerners feared that if
Hamilton's plan went into affect, they would essentially end up paying the northerners' debts as well. Furthermore, critisism and opposition to Hamilton's economic plan spread to lower class citizens. Lower class citizens in the 1790's mainly consisted of farmers, who also lived in the southern states. Hamilton's plan greatly benefited the wealthy, therefore, the southern farmers got the worst part of the deal again. Because Hamilton felt that the wealthy and the investors would keep the government floating, they gained while the farmer's lost. The majority of America in the 1790's consisted of farmers, all of whom opposed Hamilton's unfair plan. Later in the decade, many farmers turned to violence to prove their point concerning Hamilton's unjust plan.
The next major group that opposed Hamilton's plan were the strict constructionists. First of all, Hamilton was a man who tended to interpret the constitution broadly. He felt that if something was not defined in the constitution, it could be done.
In the federalist papers, Hamilton expresses his views pertaining to his loose constructionist beliefs.
"I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and to the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would contain various exceptions to powers not granted; and, on this very account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?"
Those who opposed Hamilton's plan interpreted the constitution in a totally different way. Strict constructionists, including Thomas Jefferson and James Maddison, felt that the federal governments powers should be limited as much as possible. Therefore, they interpreted the constitution explicitly. These people mainly opposed Hamilton's plan because they thought that many aspects in it were not authorized by the constitution. For example, Hamilton's idea of making a national bank. Strict constructionists did oppose the plan for other reasons as well. They felt that the plan was unfair. It would be a benefit for the north, but the south would be taken advantage of. Moreover, they agreed with the southerners in the fact that it was wrong to tax everyone for the debts of a few states. Throughout this debate, people were either siding with Hamilton or with Jefferson and Madison. This will eventually lead to the creation of political parties.
Jefferson and Madison felt that Hamilton's plan was a complete contradiction to the American Revolution which they had spent so much time and money fighting in. They felt, unlike Hamilton, that farmers were the ones who sustained the economy. With Hamilton's plan, the farmers would fall, therefore the economy would fall. To Jefferson and Madison, Hamilton's plan promoted inequality and poverty. Overall, those who opposed Hamilton and sided with Jefferson and Madison resorted to some destructive actions such as the Whiskey Rebellion.
The Whiskey Rebellion
As the federal government agreed to pay off all of the revolutionary war debts, Alexander Hamilton took the constitutional authority to implant excise taxes and tariffs to raise revenue. A lot of contraversy was created when Hamilton decided to enforce an excise tax on alcohol. This was a direct tax on Americans who produced whiskey and other alcoholic spirits. The large commercial distillers in the United States accepted the new excise tax. However, many of the smaller distillers opposed the new "Whiskey Tax."
There was much fustration created by western farmersbecause they
external image
were faced with the difficult task of transporting their crops to the
eastern market. To do this, they had to travel great distances over
mountains and poor dirt roads. Given the great difficulty of transporting
their big bushels of grain, many western farmers decided to distill their
grains into whiskey. The whiskey made their surplus easier to transport
and it gave their goods a higher value. Soon, the excise law had an
impact on all small producers. In 1791, the farmers detested the
tax because it was only payable in cash. The farmers were usually
poor and used their money to buy all the necessary goods and
services that they needed to make a living. The excise tax had a great
impact on the western fronteir.
The federal government had many problems with collecting the excise tax.
This was because small frontier farmers simply refused to pay it. Others, however took a more violent approach. Every state south of New York protested the new excise with violence. The biggest concern that they had was that all the money would support the government and they felt that they were not being represented well. Furthermore, tax rebels resorted to violence to threaten several whiskey tax collectors and excise officials. President George Washington took notice of the resistance to the tax, however, violent opposition to the tax continued to grow.
The citizens of western Pennsylvania played the biggest role in the "Whiskey Rebellion." They did not only threaten the tax collectors, but they also carried out their treats. Angry mobs of pepole ofen marched to tax collectors homes to attack them. The mobs carried out all of these actions in hopes that it would make an impact on the federal government and encourage them to take away the tax. In reaction to this, George Washington recruited a milita of 12,000 troops to surpress the rebellion. In 1794, under Washington's supervision, Hamilton led the troops to western Pennsylvania and the force easily put down the rebellion. The army captured many prisoners, but most were released due to the lack of evidence. By November 17, 1794, Hamilton notified Washington saying that the army "is generally in motion homeward."
Order within western Pennsylvania was soon maintained as the Whiskey Rebellion came to a screeching halt. Most of the Whiskey rebels returned to their previous lives and occupations. Alexander Hamilton was elated because the federal government had proven that they could enforce order. Even though violent opposition to the tax ended, the political opposition to the tax continued. It was not until the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 until Congress repealed the excise tax and other federal taxes. Nevertheless, the nation eventually relied on import tariffs and other taxes to build up the nation's economy.
The formation of political parties centered around the differences between the views of Jefferson and Madison versus Hamilton. Essentially each of their views were supported by certain people, which is the foundation of political parties. Jefferson and hamilton were the leaders of these "parties" and their supporters backed them to the end. Overall, the oppostion to Hamilton had large effects on many different aspects of the government and the economy.
The Authors of the Constitution wanted to avoid organized political parties, or groups of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy. They deemed these groups to be "factions" that threatened the unity of a republic. Despite these intentions, politicians decided to form two parties. When the Founders of the American republic wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787, they did not envision a role for political parties in the governmental order. They sought through various constitutional arrangements such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and indirect election of the President by an electoral college to insulate the new governmental order from political parties and factions. In spite of the Founders' intentions, the U.S. was the first nation to develop parties organized on a national basis and to transfer executive power from one faction to another via an election in 1800. Electoral politics in the United States has been dominated by two political parties since the administration of George Washington; but they have not always been the same two parties. The first opposition was between Federalists and Anti-Federalists--those who supported a strong federal government and those who did not. Leaders of the Federalists were Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. Both were from the Northeast where Federalist sentiment was strongest. Thomas Jefferson became the acknowledged leader of Anti-Federalist sentiment, and by the time of his election to the presidency in 1800 his party was called Democratic Republican.
Although there have been minor political parties, or third parties, throughout most of American history, two major, competitive parties have dominated the American party system. Beginning with the Federalists and the Antifederalists in the 1790s, only two political parties usually have had any substantial chance of victory in national elections. Indeed, since the Civil War, the same two parties, the Democratic and Republican, have constituted the American two-party system.
Systems in which only two political parties effectively compete for government office. Minor parties may operate in such a system, although in some cases, as in the United States, they may have to surmount significant barriers to be placed on the ballot paper. Some theorists argue that two-party systems offer a superior form of electoral democracy because unless there are only two parties, there can be no guarantee that any party will have a legislative majority, without which government policy is formed on the basis of bargaining between political elites, which is seen as less accessible to popular control. However, in a two-party system much policy formation takes place within the political parties, also away from popular control. Two-party systems are most often found in association with First-Past-The-Post electoral systems, as in the United States and Britain.
Federalists and Democratic Republicans
First Two-Party System Federalists v. Republicans, 1780s - 1801
== = Federalists=
=
Republicans=
=
=
Favored strong central government.
"Loose" interpretation of the Constitution.
Encouragement of commerce and manufacturing.
Strongest in Northeast.
Favored close ties with Britain.
Emphasized order and stability.
Emphasized states' rights.
"Strict" interpretation of the Constitution.
Preference for agriculture and rural life.
Strength in South and West.
Foreign policy sympathized with France.
Stressed civil liberties and trust in the people
Second Two-Party System
Democrats v. Whigs, 1836 - 1850
== = Democrats=
=
Whigs=
=
=
The party of tradition.
Looked backward to the past.
Spoke to the fears of Americans
Opposed banks and corporations as. state-legislated economic privilege.
Opposed state-legislated reforms and preferred individual freedom of choice.
Were Jeffersonian agrarians who favored farms and rural independence and the right to own slaves.
Favored rapid territorial expansion over space by purchase or war.
Believed in progress through external growth.
Democratic ideology of agrarianism, slavery, states rights, territorial expansion was favored in the South.
The party of modernization.
Looked forward to the future.
Spoke to the hopes of Americans.
Wanted to use federal and state government to promote economic growth, especially transportation and banks.
Advocated reforms such as temperance and public schools and prison reform.
Were entrepreneurs who favored industry and urban growth and free labor.
Favored gradual territorial expansion over time and opposed the Mexican War.
Believed in progress through internal growth
Whig ideology of urbanization, industrialization, federal
rights, commercial expansion was favored in the North.
Table of Contents
Washington's Federal Government
Before Washinton the United States government suffered many problems. It inherited debt of $52 million from the confederation. There was no navy and only an army of only about 400 men. Therefore they were not respected by other countries.In 1789 the new electoral college fortunately elected George Washington as the first president of the United States. For vice president, Massachusetts patriot John Adams was elected. The officials in the executive branch or Washington's administration started with himself, John Adams and around 12 clerks. Washington began setting important acts or statements that become traditions to be followed called precedents.
The Constitution had one Supreme Court and many smaller ones. They left to Congress the details of organizing a federal court system. James Madison was elected to the House of Representatives and helped pass the the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act established a system of courts (Judiciary). The first U.S. judiciary consisted of thirteen federal district courts, one for each state. The Supreme Court served as a trial court in cases involving states or foreign affairs. The Judiciary Act rooted the office attorney general to defend and prosecute cases on behalf of the federal government. John Jay was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Washington.
The formation of the first Cabinet was one of Washington's most important precedents. The Cabinet was a group of federal leaders who led major departments of the executive branch and advised the President. The departments of State, Treasury, and War and the attorney general were the first 4 executive departments. Thomas Jefferson led the State Department conducted foreign policy. War Department supervised national defense. Alexander Hamilton was the Secretary of treasury and managed the nation's finances. The Cabinet members were approved by senate and in 1907 it was officially recognized by law.
"The Ferderalist Party was led by John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and John Marshall. It formed from the federalists who before the ratification of the constitution fought for a stronger federal government. They were opposed at that time by the anti-ferderalists who morphed into the Democratic-Republicans after ratification."
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/politicalparties/p/federalistparty.htm
http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/President_George_Washington.jpg
"How soon we forget history... Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." (George Washington)
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http:www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/President_George_Washington.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/george_washington.htm&usg=__0uXo5d0DZ6czFgPLcR_2DVVF0Kg=&h=522&w=338&sz=30&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=xeSrI-9uMLmwEM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=85&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgeorge%2Bwashington%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DG
__http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington/__
Hamilton's Economic Plan
"A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing."Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton had to figure out a way to pay our nations debts, this procedure had provide economic security for our new nation. Hamilton believed in federalism, a strong centralized government was key to preserve the union. But as one can imagine, there are people with different opinions, the antifederalists. While trying to create this plan, Hamilton had to face the opinions of the AF, they thought that a strong national government would threaten states rights and peoples freedoms. While fighting with the two sides, it became clear that two different forms of government were needed.
Hamilton wanted to develop a commercial and industrial economy that could support a large federal government, but also take care of a army and navy. All together, the national debt was at $52 million; but then the debt owed from the individual states was $25 million. To pay these debts, Hamilton sold government bonds, which owe annual interest from there holders. To pay the annual interest on the bonds, Hamilton proposed new excise taxes and high tariffs to raise revenue for the federal government. He also asked congress to charter a bank of the united states that could regulate state banks, strengthen the national government, and insure that business interests were closely aligned with those of the government.
Hamilton saw three great benefits from his system:
1) It would establish the nations financial credibility, making it easier to borrow money in the future
2) It would buy political support from the wealthiest Americans, which Hamilton believes was essential for the governments stability
3) It would enrich envestors, who could then build new ships, wharves, store houses, and factories
Hamiltons program was intended to redistribue wealth, the federal government would taxt the American people, mainly farmers.
http://americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/hamilt.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/sfeature/hamiltonusconstituion.html
assumes state debts
Opposing Hamilton
By: Kathryn Squillace and Macky Bliss"A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing" -Alexander Hamilton
There are many instances in our nation's history where the federal
government has reached its limits. Most of the time, an individual or
group of individuals are called upon to create solutions that help to
build a stronger government. In 1790, the new United States government
was faced with many problems, especially with the economy. As Secretary
of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton took the leading role in solving the
nation's biggest economic problem: the national debt. After designing
a respectable plan, the people of the United States praised its benefits,
but also noticed its flaws. Every new idea comes with its own set of
problems, and Alexander Hamilton had to deal with many opposers that
questioned his role in the government.
As Hamilton formed his economic plan, there were a few major groups of opposers.
The southern states were among the first who lead this opposition. Under Hamilton's
plan, the federal government would tax all of the states regardless of the status of
their debt. Unlike the northern states at the time, the southern states had already
paid off their debts and were ready to move forward. The southerners feared that if
Hamilton's plan went into affect, they would essentially end up paying the northerners' debts as well. Furthermore, critisism and opposition to Hamilton's economic plan spread to lower class citizens. Lower class citizens in the 1790's mainly consisted of farmers, who also lived in the southern states. Hamilton's plan greatly benefited the wealthy, therefore, the southern farmers got the worst part of the deal again. Because Hamilton felt that the wealthy and the investors would keep the government floating, they gained while the farmer's lost. The majority of America in the 1790's consisted of farmers, all of whom opposed Hamilton's unfair plan. Later in the decade, many farmers turned to violence to prove their point concerning Hamilton's unjust plan.
The next major group that opposed Hamilton's plan were the strict constructionists. First of all, Hamilton was a man who tended to interpret the constitution broadly. He felt that if something was not defined in the constitution, it could be done.
In the federalist papers, Hamilton expresses his views pertaining to his loose constructionist beliefs.
"I go further, and affirm that bills of rights, in the sense and to the extent in which they are contended for, are not only unnecessary in the proposed Constitution, but would even be dangerous. They would contain various exceptions to powers not granted; and, on this very account, would afford a colorable pretext to claim more than were granted. For why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?"
Those who opposed Hamilton's plan interpreted the constitution in a totally different way. Strict constructionists, including Thomas Jefferson and James Maddison, felt that the federal governments powers should be limited as much as possible. Therefore, they interpreted the constitution explicitly. These people mainly opposed Hamilton's plan because they thought that many aspects in it were not authorized by the constitution. For example, Hamilton's idea of making a national bank. Strict constructionists did oppose the plan for other reasons as well. They felt that the plan was unfair. It would be a benefit for the north, but the south would be taken advantage of. Moreover, they agreed with the southerners in the fact that it was wrong to tax everyone for the debts of a few states. Throughout this debate, people were either siding with Hamilton or with Jefferson and Madison. This will eventually lead to the creation of political parties.
Jefferson and Madison felt that Hamilton's plan was a complete contradiction to the American Revolution which they had spent so much time and money fighting in. They felt, unlike Hamilton, that farmers were the ones who sustained the economy. With Hamilton's plan, the farmers would fall, therefore the economy would fall. To Jefferson and Madison, Hamilton's plan promoted inequality and poverty. Overall, those who opposed Hamilton and sided with Jefferson and Madison resorted to some destructive actions such as the Whiskey Rebellion.
The Whiskey Rebellion
As the federal government agreed to pay off all of the revolutionary war debts, Alexander Hamilton took the constitutional authority to implant excise taxes and tariffs to raise revenue. A lot of contraversy was created when Hamilton decided to enforce an excise tax on alcohol. This was a direct tax on Americans who produced whiskey and other alcoholic spirits. The large commercial distillers in the United States accepted the new excise tax. However, many of the smaller distillers opposed the new "Whiskey Tax."
There was much fustration created by western farmersbecause they
were faced with the difficult task of transporting their crops to the
eastern market. To do this, they had to travel great distances over
mountains and poor dirt roads. Given the great difficulty of transporting
their big bushels of grain, many western farmers decided to distill their
grains into whiskey. The whiskey made their surplus easier to transport
and it gave their goods a higher value. Soon, the excise law had an
impact on all small producers. In 1791, the farmers detested the
tax because it was only payable in cash. The farmers were usually
poor and used their money to buy all the necessary goods and
services that they needed to make a living. The excise tax had a great
impact on the western fronteir.
The federal government had many problems with collecting the excise tax.
This was because small frontier farmers simply refused to pay it. Others, however took a more violent approach. Every state south of New York protested the new excise with violence. The biggest concern that they had was that all the money would support the government and they felt that they were not being represented well. Furthermore, tax rebels resorted to violence to threaten several whiskey tax collectors and excise officials. President George Washington took notice of the resistance to the tax, however, violent opposition to the tax continued to grow.
The citizens of western Pennsylvania played the biggest role in the "Whiskey Rebellion." They did not only threaten the tax collectors, but they also carried out their treats. Angry mobs of pepole ofen marched to tax collectors homes to attack them. The mobs carried out all of these actions in hopes that it would make an impact on the federal government and encourage them to take away the tax. In reaction to this, George Washington recruited a milita of 12,000 troops to surpress the rebellion. In 1794, under Washington's supervision, Hamilton led the troops to western Pennsylvania and the force easily put down the rebellion. The army captured many prisoners, but most were released due to the lack of evidence. By November 17, 1794, Hamilton notified Washington saying that the army "is generally in motion homeward."
Order within western Pennsylvania was soon maintained as the Whiskey Rebellion came to a screeching halt. Most of the Whiskey rebels returned to their previous lives and occupations. Alexander Hamilton was elated because the federal government had proven that they could enforce order. Even though violent opposition to the tax ended, the political opposition to the tax continued. It was not until the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 until Congress repealed the excise tax and other federal taxes. Nevertheless, the nation eventually relied on import tariffs and other taxes to build up the nation's economy.
The formation of political parties centered around the differences between the views of Jefferson and Madison versus Hamilton. Essentially each of their views were supported by certain people, which is the foundation of political parties. Jefferson and hamilton were the leaders of these "parties" and their supporters backed them to the end. Overall, the oppostion to Hamilton had large effects on many different aspects of the government and the economy.
References for Opposing Hamilton:
Primary Sources:
1. The Federalist Papers: No.84 written by Alexander Hamilton - //http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fedindex.htm//
2. Letter from Alexander Hamilton, 1780- //http://www.sheilaomalley.com/archives/003564.html//
Secondary Sources:
1. //http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display_printable.cfm?HHID=6//
2. [[//http://www.ttb.gov/public_info/whiskey_rebellion.shtml// ]]
3. //http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande22.html//
4. //http://www.ttb.gov/public_info/special_feature.shtml//
Pictures:
1. Alexander Hamilton- //http://www.ttb.gov/public_info/whiskey_rebellion.shtml//
2. The Whiskey Rebellion- [[http://www.ttb.gov/public_info/whiskey_rebellion.shtml ]]
A Two-Party System
By Garrett Ficara & Nick Marocchini//Political Parties Compete for Power
The Authors of the Constitution wanted to avoid organized political parties, or groups of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy. They deemed these groups to be "factions" that threatened the unity of a republic. Despite these intentions, politicians decided to form two parties.When the Founders of the American republic wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787, they did not envision a role for political parties in the governmental order. They sought through various constitutional arrangements such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and indirect election of the President by an electoral college to insulate the new governmental order from political parties and factions. In spite of the Founders' intentions, the U.S. was the first nation to develop parties organized on a national basis and to transfer executive power from one faction to another via an election in 1800. Electoral politics in the United States has been dominated by two political parties since the administration of George Washington; but they have not always been the same two parties. The first opposition was between Federalists and Anti-Federalists--those who supported a strong federal government and those who did not. Leaders of the Federalists were Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. Both were from the Northeast where Federalist sentiment was strongest. Thomas Jefferson became the acknowledged leader of Anti-Federalist sentiment, and by the time of his election to the presidency in 1800 his party was called Democratic Republican.
Although there have been minor political parties, or third parties, throughout most of American history, two major, competitive parties have dominated the American party system. Beginning with the Federalists and the Antifederalists in the 1790s, only two political parties usually have had any substantial chance of victory in national elections. Indeed, since the Civil War, the same two parties, the Democratic and Republican, have constituted the American two-party system.
Systems in which only two political parties effectively compete for government office. Minor parties may operate in such a system, although in some cases, as in the United States, they may have to surmount significant barriers to be placed on the ballot paper. Some theorists argue that two-party systems offer a superior form of electoral democracy because unless there are only two parties, there can be no guarantee that any party will have a legislative majority, without which government policy is formed on the basis of bargaining between political elites, which is seen as less accessible to popular control. However, in a two-party system much policy formation takes place within the political parties, also away from popular control. Two-party systems are most often found in association with First-Past-The-Post electoral systems, as in the United States and Britain.
Federalists and Democratic Republicans
=
Republicans==
=
Second Two-Party System
Democrats v. Whigs, 1836 - 1850
=
Whigs==
=
http://www.youdebate.com/DEBATES/two_party.HTM
http://www.answers.com/topic/two-party-system
http://www.mury.k12.ut.us/MHS/apus/handouts/politicalparties.htm